Linear Rose
by NiteHawksEmbrace
Summary: It wasn't supposed to be you, but it doesn't matter...it was all an act, you were just unlucky enough to be the bait." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. If I had still had a heart, it would have crumpled with betrayal at these words.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

My death was an accident. Well, not really. I'm sure whoever it was we were fighting had intended to kill us, or at least capture us. But it's my fault they all died. If I had been there, maybe this wouldn't have happened. If only I had lived a little longer. Maybe I could have prevented any of this from happening.

They had killed Nauri, my sacrifice, which had killed me as well. How am I still alive? Because a sacrifice takes in a fighter's heart during battle, taking the damage for both of them. When they had killed Nauri, my body had died, but my soul was still intact. And now I am cursed to wonder this world forever, a hollow reflection of my true self. Neither living nor dead.

And what of the rest of the squad? Where had they gone? Did they abandon me? Or had they been slaughtered as well? That, I did not know. It didn't matter anymore anyway, even if they were alive, they would never accept me. What use was a fighter with no sacrifice? It was all my fault that Nauri was dead. I had failed to protect her and now she was gone. I had lost my partner, my best friend, my unspoken love.

She would never know, and now I could never tell her. How I really felt. We should have been more than just partners in battle. I had never let my affection for her show; I had been ashamed for thinking such things about another girl. The High Counsel back home would surely disapprove, and I hadn't wanted any harm to come to her. It was obvious, though unsaid, that the Counsel and the Empress herself thought very little of sacrifices. They were expendable.

But now, I wish I had told her. I wish I could tell her. I wish she hadn't been killed. I wanted her to realize the feelings that I was to scared to admit before. I wanted her to accept me, like no else ever had. I wanted her to be here now, to ignore my flaws and secrets, and just listen to her tell me it was going to be all right.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I opened my eyes with a start, my head throbbing painfully. I was in complete darkness and, from what I could tell, a very small space. As my senses adjusted to my surroundings, I noticed that I was laying flat on my back. And there was a damp, earthy scent coming from every direction. My panic accelerated as I felt around for an opening of some sort. There was none. Feeling trapped, I decided to make one of my own. Utilizing my natural strength, I punched straight up at the earthy ceiling of my prison. To my surprise, my fist went all the way through to the outside in that single punch.

I flinched away as blinding sunlight came streaming in through the newly made hole, as the sent of fresh air came cascading in with it. I quickly clawed my way out into the open, sitting on the edge of a clump of freshly turned dirt.

'_Had I been buried or something?'_ I wondered, taking in my new surroundings. I was sitting at the base of a cherry tree in the middle of a forest; none of it really looks that familiar. As I turned slowly, doing a 360 survey, my eyes settled on the stones at the base of the tree. They're obviously gravestones, and as I look closer, I realize that one of them is my own.

My breath catches in my throat as I gasp in shock and surprise. Reading your own gravestone can do that to you.

And in this grave, we lay to rest

_The claws that served our mighty cause_

_In hopes she'll be an honored guest_

_We send you on your final journey_

_Ena_

_'But I'm not dead…am I?'_ I asked myself, fearing the answer. I had heard of it happening, but had never believed the stories. When a sacrifice was killed in battle, and the fighter stayed alive because they had not been in possession of their heart. It was the greatest taboo any Felidae Warrior could commit. The stories always told of how the surviving fighter was hunted down and killed. There's no way it could've happened to me, could it? I turned to read the gravestone beside mine, to assure myself that I wasn't in danger. It didn't work. The icy hand of fear gripped my very being as I read what was on the next grave.

And in this grave, we lay to rest

_The ears that served our mighty cause_

_In hopes she'll be an honored guest_

_We send you on your final journey_

_Nauri_

The realization that I could never go home again suddenly hit me. There was no cure for death. If another Felidae ever found out about me, I would be killed. I had accidentally committed the most forbidden act imaginable. I hadn't died completely, and I would get no mercy for it.

I felt the prick of tears gathering behind my eyes as all that had happened suddenly came rushing back to me. Unwanted memories flooded my mind as I tried to hold back my stream of tears unsuccessfully. The wind picked up around me as I screwed my eyes shut, in an attempt to block out the inevitable.

'_Nauri is dead. It's all my fault. I might as well have been the one who killed her.'_ I screamed in my head. My grief turns to guilt at this last thought. I barely even noticed the dark clouds assembling in the distance, or the light drizzle that started to fall from the dismal gray sky.

'_She didn't deserve this. She shouldn't have died. It should have been me, I could have stopped this!'_ My tears were falling freely at this point; unable to hold them back any longer. My entire body was wracked with guilt at what I'd done, sorrow for those I've lost, and regret that I had never had the chance to tell Nauri anything.

The rain had been slowly increasing since I had first noticed it, and now it started to pour. I was completely soaked by this point, but all I could do was blame myself for what had happened. The gray sky seemed to be crying with me, as the droplets of rain that ran off my short black hair mingled with the tears that fell from my light hazel eyes. My black tail and cat-ears were drooping from both rain and sadness. Lightning flashed in the distance and I instinctively cringed away from it.

"It should have been me!" I screamed into the storm, but the loud boom of thunder drowned out my voice.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I woke up to find myself in a strange forest; the light that fell through the foliage in shafts gave it a dream-like quality. A light breeze ruffled the tops of the trees as my mind slowly starts to remember the events of last night. I deliberately don't make eye contact with Nauri's gravestone as I make my way towards the sound of flowing water. The stream was a lot closer than I thought. Wide and clear, my sensitive cat ears had heard from half a mile away. I stood at the edge of the mirroring water and stare at my reflection.

My short black hair is caked with mud, along with almost everything I'm wearing. Falling asleep in the rain on top of a grave probably wasn't the brightest idea. My light hazel-green eyes no longer glow with the life they once had, and my pale skin seems even paler than before. My black tail is limp and dirty; I think I might've broken it. My black cat ears stick out from my hair, above my normal human ears. Ten times more sensitive than humans, my ears only serve as a reminder of Nauri. She had been the 'Ears' of our five-man squad. What was I supposed to do now? With no squad and no sacrifice, I was an easy target.

Felidae Warriors were always split into five-man groups; we were supposed to personify the five parts of a cat. Fangs, Claws, Eyes, Ears, and Tail. I had been the Claws, stuck in the middle as usual. Nauri had been the Ears. Claws and Ears were always paired as fighter and sacrifice, just as Fangs were always paired with Eyes. We trained together, battled together, and traveled together. A fighter and sacrifice were supposed to be the elite fighting pair. Not anymore I guess, not for me anyway.

I suddenly wished I had been born a Tail; they could make any living thing their sacrifice. It came in handy when you made your enemy your own sacrifice, then technically they would kill themselves. It was also very difficult to steal back your heart right at the last moment of life. The stories I'd heard of undead Felidae had almost always been Tails.

_'That's probably why the rest of my squad buried me, they figured I really had died'_ I thought glumly to myself. I supposed that was better for me, in a way. Being killed by my own teammates didn't really appeal to me. I sighed as I took off my muddy clothes and eased into the water. I needed a bath, my clothes needed washing, and I needed to figure out what to do next.

As I sank into the frigid water, I watched as the mud streamed off my clothes, and me, following the current downstream. I was still reeling from the fact that I was dead, and from the fact I had been abandoned in the wilderness. Not to mention that my partner was dead as well, I had no idea where I was, I had no money, I was a girl traveling alone, I couldn't go home for fear of my life, and on top of all that, I was afraid to venture on alone. It had been awhile since I had been completely alone; most Felidae grew up with, lived, and died with their squad. They were almost never separated.

I sighed again as I slid under the water for a moment, listening to the sound of water rushing past my human ears. It was so silent underwater; it almost felt like I really was dead. I could hear everything, every breath I took, every move I made. It all seemed more defined underwater. That's when I realized; I didn't have a heartbeat!

This shouldn't have surprised me, I **was** dead after all. But it did, and I shot to the surface in a panic. After calming down for a few minutes and getting my ragged breathing under control, I walked back to shore. Making a fire to dry my clothes off with was next on my list. And as I scouted through the woods for burnable branches, I couldn't help but smile slightly.

I t was rather ironic that Nauri had taken my heart to the grave with her. I had never told her how much she meant to me, and yet a part of me would always be with her. This thought made me smile.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was a bit nervous, I'll admit. It was a strange town, with strange people. When you're walking around alone with cat-ears and a tail, people notice. It had never been too bad when I had been with my teammates, people had stared, but we had been together. Now it seemed like just accumulating the courage to enter this small town was an impossible task.

_'And today had started out so well'_ I thought sarcastically. Not likely. I had woken up to blinding sunlight shining in my face. I had decided to sleep in a tree last night; it was both safer and more comfortable. What I had not counted on was the thin foliage that covered the tree branches, thus being awakened by the rising sun. No cat should ever get up at the crack of dawn.

I had scattered the remains of my fire and buried my tombstone in my now vacant grave, but leaving Nauri there alone seemed so wrong. I couldn't just leave her there forgotten, so I had uprooted a rose bush and replanted it alongside her grave. I felt better, but walking away from her for eternity was a heavy burden on my already weighted soul.

So after walking a few miles north, I managed to stumble upon a road. Well, not really a road, but more of a dirt path, that ran through the woods to who-knows-where. So I had followed it northeast and ended up here, a dinky little town called Marrakech. I was currently lying low on the outskirts of town, waiting for the opportunity to arise for me to sneak in unnoticed, or for night to fall. Which ever came first.

After a while though, it became obvious that my plan had a few flaws. First of all, I was really hungry. It had been almost 2 days since I last ate, and my stomach was growling with protest. Secondly, It was getting dark really fast. Being part cat has its perk. For example, I can see just as well at night as I can during the day. But I really didn't want to spend another night alone in the forest, it was really creepy.

I was considering on whether or not I should try catching something to eat before it got to dark when I saw something white from the corner of my eye. I spun around, still expertly hidden in the trees on the edge of town, hoping that it was a rabbit or something. Instead, I saw a tall guy with glasses and white hair leading a large white mare down the dirt path. Atop the horse, sat a lovely noble lady. I knew she must be a noble, or some one else of importance, because she wore a draping, dark blue, silk robe with gold tassels hanging off. It wrapped around her petit form and complemented her fair skin nicely. Her hair was shorter than mine and whiter than snow, but what caught me off guard were her eyes.

'_She's blind'_ I thought to myself in wonder. They were a faint, but murky, mint green color. I couldn't help but stare; her eyes just seemed to draw me in. I felt the urge to lean toward her from the branch I was sitting on. All of a sudden her head twisted in my direction, and I subconsciously held my breath as she passed. Even though I knew she couldn't see me, I felt like she was looking directly at me. The fading sunlight gave way to the rising moon as she and her companion entered Marrakech. As soon as the mystery woman was out of sight, I exhaled slowly. My sixth sense was telling me to follow her.

'_Now's as good a time as any, I guess'_ I contemplated as I made my way towards the small town. The whole idea was to go in unnoticed; following in the wake of someone like that would definitely help my inconspicuousness. I approached the town from the same way the blind woman had gone, and as soon as I had gotten past the clump of trees just outside the entrance, it was easy to just slink in unobtrusively. It's not like it was guarded or anything. Once inside, I had a new problem, my cat ears and tail would be a dead giveaway. Hiding my tail was easy, but my ears were going to be tricky.

'_First things first'_ I sighed inwardly, as I made my way towards the center of town, _'gotta find a hat or something'_. As I got to the center of town via the rooftops, I realized that a disguise was completely unnecessary. There must have been some kind of festival going on because there were tons of people dressed up in weird costumes. I'd fit right in. There were also shops and stands set up all over the town square.

I jumped down from the roof I had been perched on and into a deserted ally, emerging into the crowd of people. I passed by stand after stand, completely unnoticed as being a Felidae. All of the shops seemed to cater to the old world crafts and ancient arts. There were tarot readings all over the place. Groups of people were gathered around crystal balls. Several teashops were scattered here and there. A vender was selling incense to a group of gypsy-looking women. I passed a few palm readers, crystal venders, and even a snake charmer. As I got to the edge of the town square, still looking for a good place to swipe some food, I saw the blind woman again.

She had a small tent set up next to some kind of herb shop. She sat there, looking very elegant, as if she were waiting for someone to come by.

'_Well obviously she's waiting for some one'_ I thought as I read the sign above her tent. Apparently she could see a person's future, her name was Zanzateal. I was about to turn around and head back the way I came when she suddenly turned to face me. I wasn't sure if she had sense me standing there or if she had heard me move, either way, she was now intently gazing in my direction. I felt compelled to go over to her, but I resisted the urge and started to turn around again.

"Your looking in all the wrong places" she said to me, I could barely hear her over the noise of the crowded town square. I turned back once more to look at her. The candlelight from inside her tent was illuminating her pale face, her white hair glowing a faint golden color in the dark.

"What's that supposed to mean, I'm not looking for anything" I replied stubbornly, subconsciously moving closer to her tent.

"No? Then why do you seem so lost?" she asked, her sightless gaze looking right through me. I had that weird feeling that she was looking directly at me again. It was starting to creep me out.

"I'm…not from around here," I answered lamely. What was I supposed to say? I couldn't exactly tell her the truth.

"Come inside, we can talk more over food. I can tell you have an inquisitive soul," she stated, a small smile playing about her lips as she gestured towards the low table surrounded by cushions on the floor of the tent. Well, finding food had been the whole reason I'd come to this town. If I was getting it without having to steal it, then yay for me. I ducked inside her tent as she let the drapes cover the door.


End file.
